BIPOC Cannabis Business Owners Rally for Tax Changes

Over 50 Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC) who own cannabis businesses gathered outside the state capital on Thursday to call for changes to cannabis regulations. The current system, they say, has failed to promote equitable ownership or job opportunities in the cannabis industry and has broken Prop 64’s promise to right the wrongs of the War on Drugs.

The rally was organized by Supernova Women. The Oakland nonprofit helps expand opportunities for cannabis entrepreneurs of color.

The rallygoers believe the Governor’s proposal to eliminate the cultivation tax does not go far enough. They’re calling for elimination of the excise tax for social equity businesses and a reduction of the cannabis excise tax to 5% for all other companies. They also want codification of a statewide definition of social equity. It would define a social equity business as one with at least 51% ownership by someone who has lived for at least five years in a low-income area, an area impacted by the War on Drugs, or someone with an immediate relative who has faced an arrest or conviction for a marijuana-related offense.

Read more at High Times Magazine.